Google Chrome becomes most-used Web browser

LOS ANGELES – Google Chrome surpassed Internet Explorer last week as the world’s most used Web browser, according to a statistic released Monday.

The Google Web browser received more usage than Microsoft’s browser during the week of May 14 to May 20, marking the first time Chrome has received the highest traffic for a full seven days.

Chrome is now ahead of Internet Explorer, with Firefox in third place and Apple’s Safari a distant fourth, according to the website StatCounter.

Google would not address the statistic from StatCounter directly, but the company did put out a statement.

“It’s great to see more and more people around the world experiencing the speed, simplicity and security of Chrome,” a spokesperson for the company said in an email. “We continue to remain focused on building a better browsing experience so that people can enjoy a better Web.”

But while Chrome is finally No. 1 worldwide, there are still certain regions on the planet where Internet Explorer holds the title.

In the United States, Chrome was still in second place, and that held true to a dramatic degree in some countries like Japan and China, as noted by The Verge.

However, the opposite held true in other countries and regions. In India, Chrome is the most used while Internet Explorer falls to third place, and in South America, Chrome brings in almost half of all Web traffic.

All in all, this is good news for Google because while browsers themselves do not make money, ad clicks from their search queries do. With more people using Chrome now, Google can rest assured its search engine is the default for most Web surfers.